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"1. As civilized as a sword can make us &amp;mdash; Hasn&amp;rsquo;t it a cultural achievement To fold the steel in layers and forge it With a hammer and anvil and hone the Blade to lethality to inscribe it With vows of victory and to wield it Requires a warrior&amp;rsquo;s training to Surpass the enemy&amp;rsquo;s might in battle And all to no benefit without a Supporting ethos infusing courage In the warrior? As civilized as We may be in the midst of savagery Haunting the human animal forcing A defense of gentle accomplishments. And there are methods for instilling compassion and benevolence in the midst violence in the human dilemma. 2. Light and leaf &amp;mdash; sun and sky &amp;mdash; mind and sky &amp;mdash; with My eyes open I see the natural Cooperation composing this world And I wonder at the magic of it That my skin absorbs the light just as a Leaf absorbs the light just as the sun fills The space surrounding the earth with light and Somehow turns it blue &amp;mdash; and have you noticed How we live subject to the natural Drama of the sky ceaselessly moving With clouds and rain and wind and light and have You noticed how the mind ceaselessly moves From happiness to discouragement to Confusion and also astonishment? Too seldom do I see too infrequently notice the churning magic composing combinations and ceaseless transformation. 3. It&amp;rsquo;s a modest dining room a smallish Round table and in the morning I make Coffee and have a bowl of cereal. Maybe a conversation an email Or an expression on someone&amp;rsquo;s face from The day before has left an impression With me and so I consider what they Are thinking and how they are coping and What I should do &amp;mdash; I didn&amp;rsquo;t understand How to direct my energy when young How to discover what needs attention &amp;mdash; I come to my breakfast table as to A reliable sanctuary and Continuously find intuition. Solitude is good regularity helpful quiet conducive for the cultivation of insightful understanding. 4. I&amp;rsquo;ve gotten a lot of mileage out of Playing the sleepless poet rummaging For significance and sacrificing While everyone else is sleeping and I&amp;rsquo;m Stubborn and I&amp;rsquo;ll pay the penalty in Taxes for not having health coverage I&amp;rsquo;ll stop taking trazodone my magic Sleeping pills because I refuse to pay Hundreds of dollars just to consult the Doctor once just to update prescriptions So I went to the pharmacy looking For non-prescription drugs and I talked to The pharmacist and he impolitely Asked me so how much coffee do you drink? Could it be the pot of coffee I drink each day lifting me up in the morning making me buzz keeping me awake at night? 5. Some people are crazy enough to wear A wing suit and stand poised on the tip of A Mountain and jump &amp;mdash; with fabric outstretched Between their arms and legs and body &amp;mdash; and They fly inches from the rocky edges Plunging as the eagles do consuming Miles of air passing inside and outside Of alpine shadows falling on the slopes Below &amp;mdash; how divine the venture must seem Flowing within a spectacle of such Gigantic proportions &amp;mdash; discovering In a human form capability For soaring with flaming sensations and A beating heart &amp;mdash; and with serenity? Perhaps a flying squirrel was the inspiration but where on earth did the courage come from?"
<http://www.stcroixreview.com/index.php/past-issues/item/929-december-poems>